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7 killed, 1 injured in building collapse in Cairo

CAIRO: Seven construction workers were killed on Wednesday when a dilapidated building in Cairo’s historic Islamic district they were spending the night in collapsed, a security official said. The builders had been spending the night in the deserted house in the Darb Al-Ahmar neighborhood, the official said. A police official said the victims were laborers …

CAIRO: Seven construction workers were killed on Wednesday when a dilapidated building in Cairo’s historic Islamic district they were spending the night in collapsed, a security official said.

The builders had been spending the night in the deserted house in the Darb Al-Ahmar neighborhood, the official said.

A police official said the victims were laborers who used to sleep on the ground floor on the building after work. He also says that local authorities had ordered the building be razed because it was a danger to the public.

"The accident took place at 3:30 am (0030 GMT) while they were sleeping. Seven people were killed, one person was injured and two workmen managed to escape before the building came down," the official said.

Rescue workers managed to extract the bodies of the seven workmen. The injured worker sustained multiple fractures, the official added.

Such accidents are relatively frequent in Egypt where construction guidelines are flouted and extra floors are often added to buildings without planning permission. Shoddy materials and corruption are usually blamed for frequent building collapses.

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Women sit in the street with their furniture after they were evacuated from their home a few days ago on July 14, in the al-Darb el-Ahmar area. Several hundred meters away an old building collapsed overnight killing seven people sleeping inside. (AFP Photo/Khaled Desouki)